Shadows (A NaLu One-Shot)
by Gravity-Chan
Summary: The gang is off on another job, but this time, their opponent is fierce and born to kill. He also may pose a threat unknown to the team... NatsuxLucy with reference to GrayxErza. Rated T for violence and language.


**Shadows**

**Author's Note: **OMG, my first NaLu story! And my first that doesn't involve cats. Ehem. Anyways, here you go! I hope you enjoy it, it took so long to write. Like four days. And I'm being serious. I love to hear your reviews, andsince this is the first piece I've written in a long time, please review and tell me what you think! I LOVE hearing your feedback.

Rated **T **for blood and violence. And kissing? xD

* * *

Natsu and Lucy were off on another job. The job, surprisingly, was right outside Magnolia, and offered ample pay. Behind them walked Erza and Gray, the other members of their team, and Happy was perched on Natsu's shoulder. Lucy stretched her arms, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. "Wow, it's beautiful out today!" she exclaimed.

"Aye!" Happy agreed. "If we weren't on a job, I would go fishing!"

"Are fish all you every think about?" Gray muttered, clasping his hands behind his head with a bored expression on his face. He turned to Erza. "Where is this place anyway?" he asked.

Erza shrugged. "Not too far," she answered. "Our job is to find and apprehend a man called 'Shadow'. Why he is called this, I do not know."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Lucy complained. "We don't know who this guy is, what he looks like, or how to find him!"

Natsu grinned. "We won't know until we try!" he exclaimed, enthusiastic as ever.

Lucy sighed. "Fine, whatever," she grumbled.

* * *

Ater a few minuted of walking, the team finally reached their destination; Evenore manor. A man named Jin Evenore was supposed to meet them there and tell them about their mission. Erza walked up to the heavy gate of the manor and was greeted by a mechanical voice. "Welcome to Evenore manor, how may I help you?" a woman's voice asked through a speaker at the side of the gate.

"My name is Erza Scarlet of the Fairy Tail guild," Erza answered. "Me and my teammates are here about the job Master Evenore posted."

"Of course, wait just one moment," the woman replied, and there was a soft sound, signaling the connection had been severed. Lucy and Gray exchanged a confused glance, and Lucy jumped when the doors of the manor opened with a loud metallic creak. Without waiting for an invite, Erza walked right in, beckoning for the others to follow her.

"Alright!" Natsu cheered, punching the air with his fist. A silly-looking grin was plastered on his face, and Lucy rolled her eyes. Sometimes, natsu was so dense it gave her a headache._ I suppose it's my fault for being his friend in the first place,_ she thought, but she smiled. Sure, he was a little rough around the edges; he was arrogant, senseless and stupid, but he had gotten her out of many a bad situation before. She sighed lightly, following Erza inside the courtyard. As they approached the actual door of Evenore Mansion, they were greeted by a tall, lanky man dressed in a black suit, most likely a butler.

The man bowed to the four as they approached. "Master Evenore is waiting for you in his study," he said. "Follow me, I will take you there." Without another word, the man turned, leading the group inside. He led them to a large room lined with bookcases, in teh middle of which was set a large square glass table and three couches. The butler paused at the entrance of the room, bowing deeply. "The four wizards from Fairy Tail have arrived, master," he announced, straightening up again.

Happy frowned. "What about me? Am I not considered a wizard?" he complained.

Natsu patted Happy's head and he sighed, quieting down again.

A somewhat short, rather chubby man in expensive-looking clothes stood from the couch opposite the door, greeting the five with a friendly smile. "Welcome, wizards," he greeted. "Come, sit, we have much to discuss."

* * *

Lucy let out a deep breath of air. She and her friends were on the move again, but at least they knew the specifics of their mission now. A group of thugs led by Shadow had broken into Evenore manor and stolen the manor's most precious treasure, a small golden pendant on a silver chain, adorned with a bright red stone. The pendant, Jin had said, was infinitely valuable to him, a last parting gift from his late mother. It was their job to apprehend Shadow and collect the pendant.

Natsu paused at the edge of the forest that Shadow and his gang were supposedly hiding in. "If only I had his scent," he murmured. "I'd be able to track him a mile away."

Gray nodded, agreeing with the fire dragon-slayer for once. "We have no leads to work of of," he added. Natsu cursed under his breath, glancing around. He had just turned his back on the forest when he suddenly spun around again, swinging his hand through the air and grabbing out of thin air an arrow, right before it struck him. "Does this count as a lead?" he asked, sniffing the arrow carefully.

Gray smirked. "Figures they'd target you first," he said.

Natsu turned his attention away from the arrow, growling. "What's that supposed to mean, ice-breath?" he retorted.

Erza struck the two rivals down with a death glare before Gray had a chance to respond. "Stop fighting!" she demanded. "The man that shot that arrow has retreated, probably to inform his master of our intrusion. This is no time to be fighting!"

"It doesn't matter, I have his scent now," Natsu answered smugly, with a stupid grin on his face. "The sucker left us a trail straight to his camp."

Lucy blinked in surprise. "That was your plan all along?" she said disbelievingly.

Natsu glanced at Lucy, confused. "Plan...?"

Lucy face-palmed herself. "Oh, never mind," she sighed in exasperation. "Let's just get this over with."

Erza nodded agreement, glancing at Natsu, who led the way into the woods. He set a brisk pace, obviously intent on finding the camp. he led them on a twisting path through the woods. He doubted they would beat eh archer back to the camp, but with his supernatural senses, he doubted they would get lost. He grinned as he began to spot tents through the dense woodland. "There it is," he called back, prepared to run straight in. Luckily, Gray noticed and was able to bop him on the head for being an idiot. "Moron!" he whispered harshly. "We have no idea how many men are in there. Right now, surprise is our only ally."

"I don't care how many men are in there!" Natsu argued. "I'll take them all out!"

Erza glared at Natsu again, immediately silently him. "Gray is right," she said firmly. "We an;t just rush in, we need a plan."

Natsu opened his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by a laugh from the trees.

"I don't think you'll be needing a plan anymore," a man's voice called out to them. Natsu turned and stared up at the trees, spotting a man crouching on a tree branch, a bow hefted in his hand with an arrow knocked. Several more men snickered, sounding from all around them.

"We're surrounded," Erza muttered. She reached around to grip the hilt of her sword, drawing the blade and hefting it in her right hand.

The man chuckled, his brown hair falling into his face. "That's cute," he purred maniacally, and loosed his arrow. The arrow moved faster than Erza expected, and before she could deflect it, it struck her in her wrist, making her drop her sword with a cry of shock and pain. "Magic arrows?" she cried. "How did you get a hold of those?"

"Erza!" Lucy screamed, running over to the woman. Erza was still standing, byt the arrow was buried deep in her right wrist, and it was obviously causing her a lot of pain. "I'm fine, Lucy," she assured, but her voice was shaky and uneven, and her body was shaking from the brunt force of the blow.

The man cackled evilly. "Poor Erza, so pathetic that she can't even stop one mealy magic arrow!" he grinned, notching a second arrow. "Who's next? Iceman? Firebreather? Or perhaps the cute Celestial mage?" he grinned, pointing the bow at Lucy.

"You keep your hands off of Lucy!" Natsu yelled. He had always been protective of the blonde, perhaps because she wasn't physically strong, as the others were.

"You won't surprise us again!" Gray added, moving his hands to summon his ice magic. "Ice Make: Lance!" Long spikes of ice magic charged at the archer, who grunted and jumped from his tree, landing on the ground. He may have been a simple archer, but he was fast, expertly dodging blows from Gray and Natsu.

"Is that all you've got, you worms?" he taunted, ducking a fireball shot from Natsu's fist. "You're going to have to do better than tha-" he was cut off by a flash of light, and suddenly he toppled over, a sword sticking from his stomach. "But how...?" he rasped, writhing and coughing. Natsu and Gray stopped their attacks, looking down at the dying man in shock. His eyes rolled back into his head and his body was still.

Lucy stared at Erza in shock, her hands over her mouth. Erza had picked up her sword with her left hand and thrown it point-blank at the archer, piercing his stomach with ease. She relaxed her stance, brushing dirt from her armor casually. "Crippling one hand doesn't change my accuracy," she said simply. The arrow was still caught in her right wrist, and she left it there; removing the arrow would cause her to bleed more than she already was.

"Man, Erza, you're toughed than you look," Natsu exclaimed, looking surprised. He ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head.

Lucy and Gray nodded dumbly, but Erza just glanced around. "The other men have fled," she realized. "The cowards."

"What now?" Lucy asked, glancing at the others.

"Now we storm the camp. Unfortunately, we have lost our element of surprise." Erza responded. She approached the archer's dead body, pulling her sword from his stomach, wiping it on the grass before hefting it in her left hand. "Let's go."

Gray and Natsu followed behind Erza, Lucy at the rear of the group. As expected, Shadow's gang was ready for this and had a row of archers and swordsmen ready for battle. However, they did not attack, instead parting to allow a dark-haired man to walk through. He smirked. "Well done, wizards. I see you managed to defeat my top archer," he said smoothly, his dark cape billowing out behind him. Happy hid behind Natsu's head. "Natsu, who is that guy?"

Natsu was fidgeting nervously. "Watch out, guys. He's a wizard, and a strong one too." he paused, lowering his voice. "Happy, get out of here." Happy looked surprised, but swallowed, nodding. "Don't die on me," he murmured before scampering off the way they camp in. Lucy gulped; for Natsu to send Happy away like that must mean that this man was someone to be avoided.

The man laughed. "Smart boy! I am indeed a wizard, and one not to be trifled with. They call me Shadow." he gave a mock bow. "Perhaps you know why?" he looked right at Erza, his eyes shining deviously.

Erza swallowed, looking a bit nervous. "You're a shadow mage," she said. "You use the shadows as weapons."

Natsu looked at Erza, confused. "Shadow Mage...?"

Shadow clapped. "Very good, Erza Scarlet! It seems you've done your homework. Unfortunately, I cannot let you live, otherwise you would have made a good addition to my team. Such a waste."

Natsu scowled, his fists bursting into flames. "You bastard!" he cried, lunging at Shadow. He threw a punch at the man, but a dark substance wrapped around his arm, yanking him back in a vice-like grip. "What the hell?" he yelled, raising his other fist, but that too was caught in the dark magic. Natsu was now held immobile by the shadows.

Shadow laughed wickedly. "Fool! I control the shadows! They bend to my bidding!" he cried. "You can't fight them!"

Natsu cursed under his breath, and his fire died against his will. He tried to summon it again, but it wouldn't come. "His dark magic cancels out my fire," he muttered, realizing his tricky situation. "Damn, what do I do?"

Shadow grinned wickedly, and shadowy figured resembling snakes rose from his own shadow, shooting forward and wrapping themselves around Erza's legs, pulling her over. She yelled in surprise as she was forcibly pulled to the ground, dropping her sword. But before she could move again, shadows clamped around her wrists, effectively pinning the wizard to the ground. She grimaced as the arrow in her wrist was broken and dislodged, feeling blood begin to flow from the wound.

Gray stuck out his hands, quickly summoning his magic. "Ice Make: Hammer!" he yelled, throwing down his ice hammer. Shadow dodged swiftly out of the way, his shadows wrapping themselves around Gray's arms and pinning them to his sides. He grunted, struggling against the shadows, but they wouldn't budge.

Finally, the shadows moved to Lucy, binding her legs to the ground at the knees and pinning her arms behind her back. She gasped in pain as the shadows squeezed her wrists painfully.

Shadow strode up to Lucy, chuckling. "Ah, Lucy Heatfillia," he mused. "A true beauty indeed."

Erza pulled at her wrists, but the shadows held strong. "Lucy, be careful," she warned.

Lucy looked away from Shadow disdainfully, but Shadow grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Hmm, yes, a true beauty indeed. You know, you don't have to share your friends' fate. Come with me, join my team. You'd make a lovely addition to my harem."

Lucy could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Not in your life!" she spat, when she finally got over her shock.

Shadow growled, releasing her chin. "Well, aren't you brave?" he said, with a poisonous edge to his voice. "Well, I'll just have to fix that." he smirked, stroking her hair lightly, provocatively, but Lucy snapped her head back, sinking her teeth into his finger.

Shadow jumped back with a bellow of pain, clutching his finger. "You brat!" he screamed, backhanding her so hard it left a bright red mark on her cheek.

Natsu fought harder against the binding holding him. "Lucy!" he cried.

"Shut up!" Shadow snapped, and the bindings holding Natsu's arms tightened, causing him to yell in pain as his arms were crushed. Shadow was at his wit's end with these children. "Enough of this, time to finish you!" he cried. He was about the crush the four wizards when an impossibly bright light erupted from the forest behind Lucy.

Shadow screamed, raising a hand to his face. "What the hell is this?" he demanded.

"Lion's Brilliance!"

The bands holding Lucy and her team dissolved, overpowered by the light enveloping them. Lucy spun around, her eyes shining. "Loke!" she cried gratefully.

Loke stood behind Lucy, his left arm curled with his right hand on his bicep, the stance he used to cast his spells. His orange hair shone like fire as light radiated brightly from his body. "Go now!" he called. "I'll hold off his shadows for you!"

As soon as the bands were gone, Natsu's arms dropped to his sides, red and raw from being squeezed. However, this didn't stop him from bursting into flames and charging shadow, slamming his fist against Shadow's cheek.

Shadow yelled in surprise; he was still blinded by the overpowering light of Loke's spell. He held a hand to his stinging cheek, attempting to summon his shadows, but found that with Loke's spell in place he could no longer summon them.

Natsu scowled at the pathetic man. "You can hurt me, torture me, kill me," he growled darkly, his fists lighting up as fire licked up his arms. "But when you mess with me team, that's when I get angry!" he lunged at Shadow, jabbing his hand straight through his stomach, puncturing his skin. "And what you said to Lucy," he continued, pulling his hand back out of Shadow's stomach. "Was unforgivable!"

Lucy's eyes widened, and she blushed. "Natsu..." she whispered.

Loke's light died down, returning back to the spirit's body. He wavered slightly, using the Lion's Brilliance, his strongest spell, for so long had drained his magic energy. He sat down, holding a hand to his head.

Lucy turned his head to Loke. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned about her friend.

Loke nodded. "I'll be fine, but I need to return to the Spirit Realm for now," he said.

"Thank you, Loke," Lucy murmured. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up."

Loke smiled at her, even as he disappeared through his gate. Lucy sighed, turning to Gray and Erza. Gray was sitting up and groaning, rubbing his arms, and Erza was clutching her wounded wrist. Blood caked her hand, and Lucy gasped. "Erza, your wrist..." she whispered, and, thinking quickly, she untied the ribbon holding back her side-ponytail and wrapped the thick fabric around Erza's wrist.

"You don't have to do that," Erza said softly, but Lucy shook her head. "It's a nasty wound and it needs to be covered," she said simply, tying the bandage right. "You keep off that hand, okay? At least until we can get you to see Wendy?"

Erza sighed, but she smiled. "Very well. Let's go find the amulet and get out of here," she said. Her voice was soft and weak-sounding, adn she wobbled when she stood.

Lucy nodded, looking at Gray, who smiled at her. "Man, that's one wicked Celestial Spirit you got there," he said, standing with a grunt.

Lucy smiled. "Yep, he's pretty great," she murmured fondly, turning to look at where Natsu was standing. he hadn't moved or said a work since he had killed Shadow, who lay on the ground in front of him. Lucy walked up to him slowly, shocked to see that he was staring at his hands in disgust. "N-Natsu?" she called out to him tentatively.

Natsu dropped his hands, shaking slightly. "I killed him..." he whispered. "I've never... never killed anyone before."

Lucy felt like her heart was going to break. This wasn't like her best friend at all. He should be cheering for their victory. He should be happy everyone was okay. Instead, it was like something in him was broken. Tears welled in her eyes, and she walked until she was standing behind Natsu. To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face in his back. "Natsu, you saved me," she choked out. "That man was wicked, he deserved to die."

Natsu looked back at Lucy in surprise. "Lucy..." he murmured, his expression softening. "Lucy, no one deserves to die. But it's okay, I'll be fine." he turned in her embrace and placed a hand on her head, giving her one of his signature grins. "Come on, Luce, let's go home." Lucy looked up at him. it was obvious he was not okay, but she took a deep breath and wiped away her tears, nodding.

When Natsu and Lucy reached Gray and Erza, Erza had her arm slung around Gray's shoulders, looking pale, and Gray was supporting her. "She lost a lot of blood, but her wound is closing up," he explained. "She's too weak to stand on her own." In a swift motion, Gray stepped in front of Erza, hefting the slim woman onto his back to carry her. She wasn't too heavy, Gray realized. it would be easy to carry her back to the guild.

Erza mumbled something inaudible before passing out, her head resting on Gray's shoulder. Gray gave a small smile; she really did look cute when she was asleep.

Natsu reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. It was gold with a silver chain and a red stone pressed into it. "The amulet!" Lucy exclaimed.

"The bastard had it in his pocket the whole time," Natsu said. "It fell out when I... you know..." he looked away, clutching the amulet tightly.

Lucy patted Natsu's back to comfort him. "Come on, we can go home now," she murmured. Natsu cracked a smile and nodded, putting his arm around Lucy in a casual fashion. Lucy smiled, a light blush on her cheeks. She loved it when he smiled.

They walked all the way out of the woods like this, Natsu's arm around Lucy's shoulders, Gray carrying Erza on his back piggy-back style. At the edge of the forest they paused; everyone was worn out from their battle.

Natsu looked around, spotting a peach tree. "Peaches? Yum, I'm starving!" he stood up, but Gray snorted contemptuously, stopping the dragonslayer. "They're not your peaches, flame-brain! Don't steal from strangers!" he scolded.

"Hey!" Natsu yelled, offended. "I'm hungry, okay? Shut up, you walking popscicle!"

Lucy sighed. Sometimes she wished the two of them would stop arguing, but in a way it was good to see Natsu arguing again. She smiled lightly, but it quickly faded when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. What's that...? she wondered. Vaguely, she noticed the outline of a man in a tree not far away. he was camouflaged, and it was hard to see him. She watched, confused, as he pulled out a bow and notched an arrow. Her stomach tightened, and she traced the arrow's path, tracing it back to... Natsu. Her eyes widened as she realized the situation. "Natsu, look out!" she cried, jumping to her feet as the archer loosed his arrow.

Natsu turned, his eyes widening as he spot the arrow. He lifted an arm, but the arrow was moving too fast. He wouldn't be able to deflect it in time.

Lucy was already moving. As the arrow zipped towards Natsu, she jumped in front of him. She heard Natsu scream her name, and gasped in agonizing pain as she felt the arrow bury itself in her chest. She crumpled to the ground, the sky above her spinning, and through her haze she could hear only one thing.

"Lucy!"

* * *

Lucy felt like she weighed a ton. When she tried to move, she found that it wouldn't work. She was painfully aware of the arrow in her chest, but it didn't seem to matter now. _Natsu, are you okay?_ she wondered. She felt herself being lifted, carried, a soft warmth flooding her back when she felt hands caressing her. She heard mumbles but no words, and she fought to keep her grasp on what little reality she could sense. Alas, even that slipped away, and it was silent and black.

Lucy groaned, her head rolling up agonizingly slowly. She gently opened her eyes, She was staring at the ceiling of something, and with a jolt she realized she was in the Fairy Tail infirmary. She let her head fall to the side, surprised to see a certain pink-haired wizard sitting at her bedside, staring at his knees. "Natsu?" she whispered, her throat hoarse.

Natsu raised his head, looking shocked. His eyes were wide. "Lucy, you're okay! thank God you're okay!" he cried.

"W-What happened?" she asked. "Did I-" she was cut off by Natsu, who, quickly but gently, pulled her from the bed and into his arms. He held her to him gently but firmly, and she heard his attempts to hold back sobs.

"Natsu?" Lucy said softly, confused.

Natsu sobbed. "I thought I was going to lose you..." Natsu whispered, and she felt his tears dripping onto his back. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu, still confused. "Natsu, what happened?"

Natsu gently drew back from her. "Someone tried to shoot me, with an arrow. You... You jumped in front of it. It shot you in the chest. I thought you were dead."

Lucy nodded, suddenly remembering the fight with Shadow. "I-I remember," she whispered. Her hand traveled to the valley between her breasts, where the arrow had struck. It was covered in tight bandages and stuffed with gauze to close the wound, and she realized the pain was fading. She must have been unconscious for several days. "How long was I... unconscious?"

"You were asleep for four days," Natsu murmured. "They said it was longer than you should have been asleep. I thought for sure you were a goner."

Lucy looked down at her hands, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. Tears formed in her eyes, and she sobbed. "They were going to kill you, Natsu. I-I couldn't let that happen!" the tears escaped, running down her face.

Natsu pulled Lucy against him, fitting her head into the hollow of his neck and resting his chin on her head. "Lucy... you're such a moron. What would I have done if I'd lost you?"

Lucy didn't answer at first. "You would've gotten over it eventually," she said finally.

"No, I wouldn't have!" Natsu cried, his voice cracking. He squeezed Lucy tightly, as if she would disappear if he let go. "I love you, you idiot!"

Lucy's eyes widened. "You what?" she whispered, shocked.

Natsu drew back from her, but as soon as he was gone he was on her again, pressing his lips against hers. Lucy gasped slightly, but her eyes fluttered shut and she melted into the kiss. Natsu pulled his body close against his; she fit perfectly against him, and it just seemed natural. Her arms went up to wra around his neck, and she felt his hands knot in her hair, pulling her closer still. Shen he finally broke the kiss, he pulled Lucy to him, embracing her for a third time. "I said I love you, Luce." he murmured.

Lucy's shock melted, and she smiled. "I love you too, Natsu," she murmured. The poor thing... she had put him through so much grief. "I'm so sorry that I caused you so much pain."

Natsu smiled softly at her. "Now we're even, right?" he joked, ruffling her hair affectionately.

Lucy giggled cutely. "Right," she answered, and Natsu pulled her in for another kiss. Her heart fluttered. _I love you._

* * *

I'm aware of how cheesy the ending is -_-' Sorry, but I was seriously dead by the time I finished this and i didn't feel like rewriting it. I suck at endings. Anyways, please review! I love to hear what you have to say!

Chao! x3


End file.
